Moving closer to a hydrogen economy thanks to the CH2F launch

The launch of the Community Hydrogen Forum (CH2F) took place at Dublin City University on October 21, 2019. Over two days in Dublin, the latest GenComm partner meeting was also held.

The forum aims to establish a reliable, go-to source of information for all community stakeholders in the hydrogen and fuel cell space and is a key deliverable of GenComm. The forum will disseminate latest news on real hydrogen projects in the North West Europe region, including GenComm’s renewable energy- to-hydrogen pilot plants.

The forum will inform communities on how hydrogen can enable growth, attract R&D investment and stimulate new cutting-edge industries, all while reducing reliance on imported and polluting fossil fuels. It will also provide information on hydrogen technology deployment and best practice, as communities strive to implement strategies to develop regional hydrogen hubs.

Among the stakeholders who will be invited to participate in the CH2F are local, regional and national authorities, energy agencies, community development groups, energy cooperatives, electricity and gas grid operators, electricity generators, large energy users and educational institutions.

The forum will also be the home of the Decision Support Tool (DST)– a web-based resource to assist industry, policy makers, investors and other interested stakeholders in assessing the commercial opportunity of hydrogen technologies which can enable sector coupling between renewable power and zero carbon transport needs across North West Europe. This is a first-of-a-kind assessment tool, designed to encourage wider understanding in the sector.

GenComm Programme Manager Paul Mc Cormack marked the launch of the CH2F, saying: “This will be a momentous day for the use of Hydrogen both here in Ireland and across Europe. The CH2F will be a resource for communities, industry and government who want to explore the use of hydrogen in the energy transition.

“By joining everyone benefits. The community hydrogen forum helps move us towards a hydrogen economy and a new cleaner energy system for all of Europe across many applications including energy storage, transport and power generation.”

Ian Williamson, President of the European Hydrogen Association, said “The community hydrogen forum is designed to increase engagement with hydrogen. It will help to create a market pull for the new, clean technologies which we have developed in the last 20 years. No matter what the scale, now everyone can understand how to get involved in helping shape a sustainable hydrogen future for themselves.”

Chair of the Community Hydrogen Forum, Dr Rory Monaghan from the NUI Galway Ryan Institute and School of Engineering and the MaREI Centre for Marine and Renewable Energy, said: “The energy sector has woken up to the potential of hydrogen to reduce emissions and fossil fuel use in power generation, transport, homes and businesses. It can play a truly transformative role in Europe’s energy system and economy. The next step is to inform policymakers of the benefits of hydrogen and demonstrate to communities how hydrogen can re-energise regional development. This is the role of the CH2F.”